Private-equity firm Blackstone Group LP (BX) is in exclusive, early-stage talks to buy chemical company MatlinPatterson's Polymer Group Inc. (POLGA). Polymer is majority-owned by MatlinPatterson Global Advisors, a New York-based investment firm. MatlinPatterson has been trying to sell Polymer, in which it the largest shareholder, for months. MatlinPatterson Global Advisers...

Canadian-based health sciences company, Sernova Corp (SVA) said its experimental glucose-control device showed safety and efficacy in a pre-clinical study in pigs that were made diabetic. Dr. Philip Toleikis, Sernova's President & CEO, noted "Our Cell Pouch System(TM) is a proprietary medical device implanted under the skin rapidly forming into...